Caliphate of Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.) in the Holy Quran

Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, says in Surah Noor (24), verse 55 of the Holy Quran:

وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَىٰ لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا ۚ يَعْبُدُونَنِي لَا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئًا ۚ وَمَن كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ 

"Allah has promised to those of you who believe and do good that He will most certainly make them rulers in the earth as He made rulers those before them, and that He will most certainly establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and that He will most certainly, after their fear, give them security in exchange; they shall serve Me, not associating aught with Me; and whoever is ungrateful after this, these it is who are the transgressors."

In the light of this verse, every Muslim must reflect that Allah, the Almighty, has made certain promises to the believers and those who do righteous deeds.

First Promise: Almighty Allah shall make them rulers in this entire earth. 

According to Ahle Tasannun, this verse is applicable to every ruler and caliph in Islamic history. If we accept this view of Ahle Tasannun, then it would also include Yazid Ibn Muawiyah in this list of rulers and caliphs although, a majority of the Muslims consider Yazid and his likes to be accursed. Pondering over this verse, we realise that the word used therein is "earth" which obviously refers to the entire world. It cannot be limited to Makkah, Madinah, Hijaz, Iraq, or other Islamic countries, because these are only parts of the earth, not the whole of it. Hence, right from the initial period of Islam till date, history has never witnessed a time when a divine caliph ruled the entire world or when Islam was the dominant religion.

Second Promise: Allah, the Exalted, will establish that religion with which He is satisfied. 

The famous Ahle Tasannun scholar Ibn Jauzi in his book Zaad al-Maseer, vol. 6, p. 58 narrates that the word "religion" in this verse refers to Islam, and "establishing" means Islam’s domination and success over all other religions. However, to date, Islam has never become the dominant religion across the entire world. Now, it is the responsibility of every Muslim to know about that religion with which Allah is satisfied because our eternal fortune is dependent on that very religion with which Allah is pleased. 

Keeping emotions aside, every Muslim must think in the light of intellect as to which is Allah’s chosen religion. A religion which was perfected in Ghadeer with the announcement of the Imamate and Mastership of twelve Imams (peace be upon them), i.e., Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and his eleven successors (peace be upon them). A religion that is certified in the Holy Quran or some other religion that has no relation to Ghadeer?

Third Promise: Exchange the fear of the believers with security.

Fourth Promise: Only Allah will be worshipped on earth and there will be no trace of polytheism.

At present, the vast majority of polytheists and disbelievers, through widespread injustice and tyranny, have created an environment of fear and anxiety. It means that every Muslim will vouch for the fact that all the promises made by Allah in this verse are yet to be fulfilled. But, being a Muslim, it is our firm belief that each of these divine promises shall definitely be fulfilled. But this is possible at the hands of only one personality, the last successor of Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) i.e., His Eminence Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.).

Hence, we earnestly pray to Almighty Allah that, in order to spread the religion of Islam in this entire world and establish peace and harmony, hasten the reappearance of His last proof and true caliph, His Eminence Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.), and keep us steadfast on the belief in his Mastership.

Aameen, O Lord of the worlds!